I agree with Andy Hill's comments. One manned, and one unmanned private craft flying above 100Km does not prepare us to jump to the Moon! Second and third place prizes would build a stronger industry. The CATS (Flash prize) altitude of 200 Km has not been reached by any private rocket. A great deal of effort was stimulated by the $200,000 prize offered! Technology does not proceed by big steps, it only seems to when the intermediate steps are hidden. This make "insurance" bets easier to fund prizes, but eliminates the possability of sponsorship and pay per view "spectators". Twelve "binary" steps, each doubling altitude or its equivalent, will take us to the Moon.

one proposal to establish several steps in altitude, one proposal to establish several - but less - steps in development and one proposal concerning the goal.

What WTN XPRIZE do you propose to do and achieve all this? One of the topics of the WTN XPRIZE can be nanotechnology for example. Nanotechnology can contribute to the reduction of weight and volume and thus can reduce the absolute amount of energy required to get to the orbit or/and to the different altitudes and - last - to the moon.

There other topics of the WTN XPRIZE too.

What should a WTN XPRIZE be given for that can help to achieve the orbit, achieve the steps in development, achieve the steps in altitude and to reach the moon at least by a private space vehicle?

What WTN XPRIZE do you propose to do and achieve all this? One of the topics of the WTN XPRIZE can be nanotechnology for example. Nanotechnology can contribute to the reduction of weight and volume and thus can reduce the absolute amount of energy required to get to the orbit or/and to the different altitudes and - last - to the moon.

Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

I know from the other posts you've made on the subject that you are fan of Nanotechnology, as I am, but it doesnt need to be applied in every thread. There are somethings that Nanotechnology is not suitable for and a future X-prize is one of them.

Groups all round the world are developing this technnology as fast as they can and business is investing millions of dollars because of its wide reaching applications, it doesnt need a kick start. An X-prize should be to encourage something space related that needs encouragement.

I agree with rpspeck that a prize should be awarded for the first team to achieve an altitude of 200km as well as 2nd and 3rd prizes for going sub-orbital at 100km.

It might be good idea to award one for rocket engine technology, say the first team to build one with an Isp of over 400 or something (not sure what the current participant engines reach at the moment). This would encourage those tesams who have built engines but not the whole vehicle.

_________________A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

The reason for my frequent mentions of nanotechnology here is simply that I do know that there are several other topics WTN and the XPRIZE Foundation have in mind explicitly but didn't have the time up to now to look for links and connection of these other topics to vehicles discussed in this thread.

But I am very interested in finding such links and connections or reading about them in posts here. That is one reason why I am trying to encourage to create WTN XPRIZE proposals in this thread.